Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to Joe Biden, said on Friday that there was no indication that the new coronaviruses had reached the US.
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Everything you need to know about the new variant of Covid.
Theguardian.com/world/2021/Nov/26/vaccine-resistant-what-scientists-know-new-covid-variant
South Africa and seven other countries in southern Africa will be restricted starting on Monday.
Biden said that he was briefed by his chief medical adviser, Dr Tony Fauci, and the members of the Covid response team about the Omicron variant which is spreading through South.
Air travel restrictions from South Africa and seven other countries are being ordered as a precautionary measure. The new restrictions will take effect on Monday.
The Washington Post quoted an unnamed official as saying the restrictions were being imposed out of an abundance of caution and would not apply to US citizens or permanent residents.
Travel limitations were enacted quickly by other countries. Britain has banned flights from several countries. European Union states agreed to impose restrictions on travel from South Africa. Travel was restricted in Singapore and Japan.
The World Health Organization gave the variant Omicron a name, and said an advisory group had recommended it be designated as "of concern". The WHO said preliminary evidence suggested the latest variant carried a higher risk of re-infection than other variant of concern.
Some health officials were concerned about the vaccine's ability to protect against the Omicron variant.
The new variant of the virus has more than 30 changes to the spike protein, which is more than twice the number of changes carried by the Delta variant. Fears have been raised that the antibodies from vaccination or previous infections might not be well matched, and thus become less protective.
The vaccine produced by BioNTech will be tested against the Omicron variant in two weeks.
In the event of an escape variant, initial batches of the vaccine will be shipped within 100 days.
Biden said that adults in the US should get a booster shot. He said that those not yet fully vaccined should get it today.
Biden said that it included both children and adults. America is leading the world in vaccinations for children and teens. We need more Americans in all age groups to get this life-saving protection. If you haven't gotten vaccinations or haven't taken your children to get them, now is the time.
The president called on other countries to match America's generosity in donating vaccines to poorer nations and said he would call on the nations gathering next week for the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting to meet the US challenge to waive intellectual property protections for Covid vaccines.
The Omicron variant has been found in South Africa, as well as in a person who traveled to Hong Kong. Belgium was the first European nation to have a confirmed case. The variant has been confirmed by Israel.
The experts said the public shouldn't panic. More data is needed but we are taking precautions now.
Fauci talked to CNN. He said that the variant was raising some concern, particularly with regard to transmissibility increase, and possibly evasion of immune response.
Fauci said that Omicron appeared to be spreading at a rapid rate and that US scientists were communicating with their South African counterparts to learn more.
He said that they were getting the material together with their South African colleagues to test it. We don't know if this is an issue or not, but we are talking about a red flag.
If you test it, you will know for certain whether or not it does or does not evade the vaccine that we make. We don't know, but we're going to find out.
He said that they had arranged a discussion between our scientists and the South African scientists to get the facts. We want to find out what is going on.
Fauci said research was needed to find out if the Omicron variant does not evade the vaccines we are doing. You want to make sure you have a basis for doing that, but you are prepared to do everything you can to protect the American public.
US stocks plummeted on Friday after news about Omicron. The worst day of the year for the stock market was marked by the fall of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dropped. The stocks of airlines and aviation companies took a hit.
